ROCKFORD - Discussion Tuesday at the Winnebago County Health Department centered on how people would react if a dirty bomb exploded just a few blocks away.

Dirty bombs release radioactive material, so residents would have to stay indoors for several hours, even days, especially if they were close to the blast site.

But those people would want to check on their children, their elderly parents and their pets. They may not carry extra medications they need to take, and maybe there's not enough food in the building where they're confined.

Luckily officials were only discussing a "what-if" scenario as part of an emergency preparedness workshop that focused specifically on human behavior during emergencies.

The training is key to the mission of the Winnebago County Citizen Corps Council and United Way of Rock River Valley to educate the community and better prepare residents for natural and man-made disasters. The council is comprised of first-responders and government, education, health and social services organizations.

"We felt that if we got a group of key people together who could better understand how to start conversations in their own communities about this issue, that we would become a better-educated community," said Anna Kaye, United Way's volunteer center director.

Tuesday's training was facilitated by Dave Duecker, a contractor with the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 5. He talked with the group members about their own experiences with disasters and emergencies - earthquakes, tornados, even being stranded in a car during cold weather - and encouraged more in-depth discussion about the human response to these scenarios.

"This is where it has to take place," Duecker said. "For years and years and years, we have used this top-down approach where most of what you've gotten from us has been in the way of templates and brochures and maybe binders, things that are handed out, kind of pushed from the top down.

"This activity requires that you get at the grass roots and start to move these practices and move this knowledge and move this ability to enhance resilience from the ground up."

United Way already helps fund the 211 nonemergency phone number and call center available to residents for referrals to a variety of services such as food banks, health care, child care and job training. Volunteers also can sign up at wevolunteer.org with their phone numbers and list specialized skills that could be needed during specific types of emergencies.

Kaye is available to help organize emergency preparedness presentations at places such as churches, community centers and schools.

"It's part of making sure that individually we take responsibility and that collectively we're stronger because of that," Kaye said.